


Working Out

by maeveth



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Complete, M/M, Oneshot, flecksofpoppy made me do it, slightly silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-01
Updated: 2014-10-01
Packaged: 2018-02-19 11:55:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2387390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maeveth/pseuds/maeveth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reiner and Bertolt do pushups to blow off steam.  They also help each other do pushups.  Much to the disbelief of the rest of the cadet corps.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Working Out

**Author's Note:**

> flecksofpoppy made me do it.

From Eren’s current standpoint – well, sit-point – all he can see is Bertholdt’s head going up…and down…and up…and down…and…”Bertl, what in the hell are you doing?”

“Huh?” Bertholdt looks up from the book he’s reading. He’s seated crosslegged on Reiner’s broad, muscular shoulders while Reiner does pushups. “I’m helping Reiner work out.” He says this in a matter of fact fashion, like this should be the most obvious thing in the world.

“You’re helping him by sitting on him.” Jean sounds as skeptical as Eren looks as he leans over to watch, although his leaning is cut off by Eren shoving him until he falls face first on the bed next to them. Nearby, Armin snickers.

“Well yeah. He gets better resistance if I do this. It’s better for building muscle.” Bertholdt continues to go up…and down…and up…and down.

“So does he do the same thing for you?” Eren wants to know, though a moment later he’s hit in the face with a pillow as Jean retaliates for the earlier shove. Mikasa knocks their heads together before it can devolve into a pillow fight. 

“Of course he does, why wouldn’t he?” 

Bertholdt’s calm response earns total silence from the rest of the 104th. Everyone is now gaping at him instead. It’s not exactly a secret that Bertl is strong, but everyone’s always perceived Reiner as being the workhorse of the two of them. Somehow the thought of Bertholdt doing pushups with Reiner on his back is bending brains.

“Looks like – fifteen – they don’t – sixteen – believe you – seventeen – Bertl,” Reiner grits out in between pushups. “Let’s – eighteen – demonstrate – nineteen – shall we – twenty – then?” He ripples his powerful shoulders, a cue for Bertholdt to get up and pull his shirt off.

Conversation had quieted earlier; it outright ceases as Bertholdt strips his shirt off. His slouchy posture and perpetual shrinking behind Reiner have given everyone the impression that he’s lanky, and not terribly well built; that is immediately refuted by the powerful physique he displays with the shirt gone. He’s solid muscle layered over that six-foot-four frame, and now that it’s obvious he has almost every single cadet staring at him in disbelief. Much to his mortification – and Reiner’s open amusement – it’s obvious that a good few of those trainees, both male and female, are drooling. Bertholdt is slowly turning a spectacular shade of red.

Fortunately for him, Reiner saves him with a nudge. “Go on, Bertl. Show ‘em what you can do.” He looks at Jean, who’s almost bug-eyed and staring. “Bertl’s actually stronger than I am, you know,” he says conversationally as Bertholdt takes his spot on the floor. Without missing a beat, Reiner settles himself crosslegged on Bertholdt’s shoulderblades.

Jaws sag throughout the barracks as Bertholdt starts to do pushups. He isn’t moving terribly quickly, but it’s obvious he’s doing those pushups with ease, even with Reiner’s not-insubstantial weight on his back. Up and down, up and down, fluid and…

Abruptly Jean shifts, eyes popping out of his head. “You have got to be shitting me, are you doing those pushups one-handed??”

Sure enough, Bertholdt has shifted all his weight – and Reiner’s – onto his right arm, and his left is curled behind his back. Reiner is actually holding his hand, just because that’s convenient to do from this angle, and urging him to greater efforts. 

“Okay, okay, you win. Bertl can kick all our asses.” Eren shakes his head and shoves Jean again for good measure, prompting Jean to shove back until Marco intercedes and plays peacekeeper for the five hundredth time. 

Later that night Reiner is smoothing Bertholdt’s hair back from his face as they lay in their bunks. Beneath them Connie is audibly snoring and Bertholdt is fairly sure he can hear Jean and Eren still arguing in whispers. “You think they’ll really believe us when we say that’s how we blow off steam?” Bertl asks, sounding anxious and young.

Reiner chortles, earning himself a shushing from Armin. “It’s easier for them to believe that than some other things. Don’t worry about it, Bertl. It’s fine. Besides, you know we’re not the only ones doing that to—“

“Please let’s not bring that up again,” Bertholdt groans. The stable incident is seared into his memory.

Reiner smiles, then leans in to kiss Bertholdt’s lips gently. “It’s all good, Bertl. And now everyone knows you’re the undisputed pushup champion of the 104th.”

(Epilogue: Bertl retained that title for the rest of training, and after Eren found out the hard way that not everyone could do pushups with Reiner sitting on them nobody else ever challenged him for it.)

**Author's Note:**

> I'll leave the stable incident to everyone's imagination. (I like Noodle Incidents.)


End file.
